Golf club head of the iron type having a concave sole

ABSTRACT

A golf club of the iron type having a novel golf club head comprising a striking face with a leading lower edge, a toe, a heel, and a novel concave sole; said concave sole imparting improved ball striking characteristics such as improved dynamic stability of the head in contact with the ground and minimize deceleration of the club head speed in contact with the ground. The golf head is useful for the manufacture of golf clubs of the iron type.

United States Patent Braly 1 5] May 14, 1974 1 GOLF CLUB HEAD OF THEIRON TYPE 2.332.342 10/1943 Reach 273/174 x HAVING A CONCAVE SOLE 1831718 12/1931 M0rt0n.... 273/167 A 1,283,568 11/1918 Sampson.. 273/174[75] Inventor: Joseph M. Braly, Kennett Square, 50519 8 1924 smith H 273|67 A Pa, 2,041,676 5/1936 Gallagher. 273/167 A X 3,138,386 61964 O273/167 A [73] Assignee: Con-Sole Golf Corporation, Chadds mom Ford, Pa.FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] i July 24 1972 455,632 10/1936Great Britain 273/167 A [21] Appl' 274563 Primary ExaminerRichard C.Pinkham Assistant ExaminerRichard J. Apley [52] US. Cl. 273/167 A,273/167 F Attorney, Agent, or FirmConnolly and Hutz [51] Int. Cl A63b53/04 [58] Field of Search 273/77 R, 167 R, 167 A,

273/167 D, 168, 169, 174, 164, 172, 173 [57] ABSTRACT A golf club of theiron type having a novel golf club [56] References Cited head comprisinga striking face witha leading lower UNITED STATES PATENTS edge, atoe, aheel, and a novel concave sole; said con- 394550 H1935 Jansky 273,167 AUX cave sole imparting improved ball striking characteris- 1,532,5454/1925 Pedersen 273/164 Such as 'mPrOVed dynamlc stablhty of the head m1517990 2/1937 Worthington 273/|67 A contact with the ground andminimize deceleration of 1,866,615 7 1932 Beckley 273 1 7 A the clubhead speed in contact with the ground. The 3,088,736 5/1963 Mospan273/164 X golf head is useful for the manufacture of golfclubs of3,166,320 l/l965 Onions.... 273/164 A X [he iron type, 1,541,126 6/1925Dunn 1. 273/167 A 3,079,157 2/1963 Turner 273/167 A 4 Claims, 12 DrawingFigures GOLF CLUB HEAD OF THE IRON TYPE HAVING A CONCAVE SOLE FIELD OFINVENTION This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly toa golf club of the iron type having a novel golf club head with aconcave sole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known in golf, a game of skill,that the golfers accuracy is dependent upon the golf club head speed andthe relationship of the golf ball and the club striking face at thepoint of impact.

The accepted technique in hitting the ball from sand requires the clubhead entering the sand some distance behind the ball, the face of theclub continuing through the ball with such direction and force so as topropel the ball onto the green or putting surface. This is known as theexplosion or sand shot. All other shots in golf require that the objectball be struck with the hitting surface or face of the club prior to theleading edge of the face entering the media upon which the ball rests.Any departure from this technique results in the loss of objective.

I have invented a golf club having a novel golf club head with a concavesole which provides greater accuracy than is obtainable withconventional golf clubs. My golf club is particularly useful for golfclubs of the iron type and more particularly for the golf club known asthe sand wedge and the like used to impart a high loft or are oftrajectory to a golf ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a golf club ofthe iron" type comprising a shaft and a head; said head having astriking face with a leading lower edge; a toe; a heel; a sole extendingrearwardly from said lower edge between said toe and heel to provide afirst downwardly facing surface generally parallel to and immediatelybehind said lower edge; a second downwardly facing concave surface asviewed from below extending rearwardly from said first surface; and athird downwardly facing surface having a lowermost portion extendingrearwardly from said second surface; said second surface having a widththat is greater than the width of said first surface plus the width ofsaid third surface forward of said lowermost portion, said widths beingmeasured in a plane passing through and perpendicular to a centralportion of the striking face.

The golf club of this invention is of the iron type comprising a shaftand a head; said head having a lofted striking face with a rear side anda leading lower edge on said face; a toe; a heel; a sole extendingrearwardly from said lower edge between said toe and heel to provide afirst downwardly facing surface generally parallel to and immediatelybehind said lower edge; a flanged portion extending rearwardly from saidrear side having a second and third downwardly facing surfaces, saidsecond surface being formed by a cavity between said first and thirdsurfaces and having a width which is greater than the width of the firstsurface plus the width of the third surface forward of the lowestportion of the third surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the attached drawings whereinpreferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated:

FIG. I is a schematic view of the action of club head through said mediaupon which the ball rests;

FIG. 2 is the front elevational view of a lofted golf club of the loftedtype, i.e., sand wedge golf club head embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of said sand wedge;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of said sand wedge;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of said sand wedge;

FIG. 6 is a right elevational view of said sand wedge;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of said sand wedge taken along lines 77 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of an alternate golf club headconstruction;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10 10 of the golfclub head shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of an alternate modification of thegolf club head of this invention; and

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of another alternate modification ofthe golf club of this invention.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 to 7, the golfclub 10 comprises a tubular shaft 28 having a hand grip 32 at the upperend of the shaft and the novel golf club head 12 at the other end of theshaft. The golf club head is attached to the shaft by a concentriccoupling element 30. The club head which is composed of metal can beproduced by well known casting, or investment casting techniques. Theclub head has a heel 35, a toe 34 and a striking face 14 with a leadinglower edge 16, a sole extending rearwardly from said leading lower edgebetween said toe and heel and consisting of a first downwardly facingsurface 17,

which is generally parallel to and immediately behind said lower edge,having a lowermost portion 18; a second downwardly facing concavesurface 20 extends rearwardly from said first facing surface and a thirddownwardly facing surface 24 having a lowermost por tion 22, said thirdsurface extending rearwardly from said second surface. The lowermostportion 18 of the first downwardly facing surface can be considered tobe a second lower edge at the intersection of the first facing surfaceand the concave surface and the lowermost portion 22 of the thirddownwardly facing surface can be considered to be a third lower edge atthe intersection of the third facing surface with the concave surface.An optional feature of the club head is a groove 38 by which the weightof the club head is controlled by varying the depth of the groove; saidgroove extending upwardly from said third surface to the uppermostportion of the striking face.

In essence, the novel sole of my golf club head comprises a loftedstriking face with a rear side and a leading lower edge on said face; atoe; a heel; and a sole extending rearwardly from the lower edge betweenthe toe and heel to provide a first downwardly facing surface generallyparallel to and immediately behind the lower leading edge, with aflanged portion extending rearwardly from said rear side. The flangedportion which extends rearwardly from the rear side, comprises a secondand third downwardly facing surface said second surface being formed bya cavity between the first and third surfaces. The cavity has a widthwhich is greater than the width of the first surface plus the width ofthe third surface forward of thelowest portion of the third surface.

The ratio of the width of the cavity to the sum of the width of thefirst and third surfaces is 2:l to I021 or more and preferably 3:1 to8:1 and most preferred 3:1 to 5:1.

The club head is attached to the shaft by a cylindrical shank 26extending from the heel of the club which has a hollow portion 40 forbeing adapted to the shaft.

The striking face contains a plurality of grooves 26 which assistimparting spin to a golf ball which has been struck.

FIG. 1 shows the action of a lofted embodiment of the golf club of thisinvention through sand and in phantom from the club before striking theball and after striking the ball. The leading edge of the moving clubhead meets the ground before lower edge 22. The leading edge and loweredge 22 of the golf club prior to, during, and after striking the golfball forms path A and B as arcs of two concentric circles. Preferable,at about'the middle of the striking face, the angle formed by a linepassing through the leading edge perpendicular to the golf club shaftand the line drawn from the leading edge and edge 22 forms an angle a ofup to about 25, preferably in the range of 7 to I5", and most preferredis an angle in the range of 7 to 12.

Restated another way, a line drawn in a plane perpendicular to a centerportion of said face from the lowermost portion of the third surface tothe lower leading edge with the shaft when viewed rearwardly forms anobtuse angle (1 shown in FIG. 11 which is within the range of 90 to 115more or less when viewed rearwardly, and preferably 90 to lO5 and mostpreferred 92 to 95.

In FIG. 7, the concavity is described distance e from the bottom of theconcavity to a line joining edges 18 and 22 and the distance d between18 and 22. Preferably, the ratio ofd to e is 4 to l to 15 to l and mostpreferred 6:l to 101i. The length of the distance d preferably is 0.5 to1.5 inches or longer and most preferred 0.75 to 1.25 inches.

The concave surface on the sole of the club can be any section of aquadric or conic surfaces of revolution provided the longitudinal axisof the surface lies essentially parallel to the leading edge. The secondsurface, for example, can be the top portion of a hemisphere, aspheroid, an ellipsoid, and a sphere or a spheroid cut with a cylinderor a series of cylinders or a curved cylinder to form a quadric surfaceor a conic surface of revolution. The surface when it is a section of a.cylinder is positioned so that the longitudinal axis of the cylinderlies essentially parallel to the lower leading edge. Alternately, thelongitudinal of the cylinder can be curved with the center of curvaturelying at a point behind the striking face of the golf club. Thus thesurface as showing in FIG. 5 is a section ofa cylinder and in FIG. 4 andFIG. 7 the surface is an ellipsoid. In FIG. 7, the cross I sectionalsurface of the club head is shown as 42.

surface l7-A which is generally parallel to and immediately behind thelower edge and having a lowermost portion I8-A, a second downwardlyfacing concave surface 20-A extending rearwardly from said first facingsurface and a third downwardly facing surface 24-A having a lowermostportion 22-A extending rearwardly from the second surface. Optionally,the club can have a weight compensating groove 38-A which extends fromthe uppermost portion of the third surface to the uppermost portion ofthe striking face, a crosssectional surface of the club 42-A.

The relationship of the various surfaces to each other in the alternateembodiment shown in FIG. 8, and 11 are the same as described above forthe club described in FIG. 1 7.

The modification of the golf club in this invention for a less loftedclub 12-C is shown in FIG. 12 comprising a shank 26-C, a toe 34-C, astriking face l4-C with a lower leading edge 16-C, with a sole extendingrearwardly from said leading lower edge between said toe and heel andconsisting of a first downwardly facing surface l7-C which is generallyparallel to and immediately behind said lower edge having a lowermostportion l8-C; a second downwardly facing concave surface 20-C extendsrearwardly from said first facing surface and a third downwardly facingsurface 24-C having a lowermost portion 22-C extending rearwardly fromsaid second surface. The lowermost portion 18-C of the first downwardlyfacing surface can be considered to be a second lower edge at theintersection of the first facing surface and the concave surface and thelowermost portion 22-C of the third downwardly facing surface can beconsidered to be a third loweredge at the intersection of the thirdfacing surface with the concave surface. An optional feature of the clubhead is a groove 38-C by which the weight of the club head is controlledby varying the depth of the groove; said groove extending upwardly fromsaid third surface to the uppermost portion of the striking face.

Another modification of the golf club is shown in FIG. 11 comprising acylindrical shank 26-8, a toe 34-3, a striking face l4-B having a lowerleading edge l6-B, a concave surface 20-B and a third surface 24-B. FIG.11 shows a golf club used for more lofted shots than the club of FIG.12, but less lofted than the club of FIG. 7. Optionally, a weightcompensating groove 38-B which can be of varying depth, extends from theuppermost portion of the lowermost portion of the third surface to theuppermost portion of the rear side of the striking face.

The ratio of the width of the lower flange to the width of the flat soleis 1:2 to 1:10 or greater and preferably l:3 to 1:8 and most preferred1:3 to I16. The first and third surfaces have a width of 1/8 to 5/16inch or more and preferably to A inch, and are not necessarily the samewidth.

The leading edge can be straight or curved, with the center of curvaturebeing located at a point behind the striking face. The longitudinal axisof the concavity is essentially parallel to the straight leading edge orto the tangent to the curved leading edge at a point near the midpointof the striking face.

By a golf club of the iron type it is meant the club consisting of ametal head having the striking face related to the shaft that it slopesupwardly and rearwardly when the sole of the club is parallel to theground and the shaft is held vertically.

The golf club of this invention with the novel golf club headunexpectedly improves the accuracy of a persons golf game using thesame. It is believed that the design of my club, particularly for thelofted clubs, can be used to more easily propel a golf ball along a pathof desired trajectory and distance because of the improved dynamicstability of the head of the club in the media upon which the golf ballrests and because of the minimization of the rate of deceleration of thespeed of the golf club head upon entry into and passage through saidmedia.

A sand wedge such as has been described herein has all the embodimentsrequired of the so-called pitching wedge. Conversely, a pitching wedgeto be effective need not have the embodiments required of the sandwedge. United states Golf Association rules require that a contestantcarry nomore than 14 clubs in his bag during sanctioned tournament.Therefore, a club effective for both pitching and sand is desirable.Such latitude is intended within the scope of my invention. Theforegoing detailed description has been provided for clarity ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations are to be understoodtherefrom. The invention is not limited to the exact details shown anddescribed for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in theart.

The preferred embodiments in which an exclusive privilege or position isclaimed are as follows:

1. A golf club iron comprising a shaft with a metal head secured theretoat one end thereof, a substantially planar ball striking face inclinedupwardly and rearwardly from a front ground penetrating edge portion toan uppermost rear portion, the major portion of the ball striking facebeing rearward of a reference plane containing the axis of the shaft andextending generally parallel to the front edge portion of the ballstriking 5 face, a downwardly facing sole rearward of the front edgeportion of the ball striking face, a back face extending between thesole and the uppermost rear portion of the ball striking face, andshallow concavity in the major portion of the sole gradually curving ina direction generally transverse to the reference plane, the concavityhaving a leading boundary portion spaced from the front edge portion andforming a first sole portion, the leading boundary portion forming afirst sole portion edge, the first sole portion edge being the low- 5ermost elevation of the first sole portion, the concavity having atrailing boundary portion spaced from the back face and forming a secondsole portion, the trailing boundary portion terminating at a second soleportion edge, the second sole portion edge being the low- 30 ermostelevation of the second sole portion, and the second sole portion edgebeing the lowermost elevation of the sole when the reference plane isvertical.

2. A golf club iron as in claim 1 wherein a line interconnecting thefirst and second sole portion edges forms an angle of 90 to 1 15 withthe vertical.

3. A golf club iron as in claim 2 wherein the angle is in the range of92 to 95.

4. A golf club iron as in claim 1 wherein the shallow concavity isdefined by the uppermost portion of a cylinder having a longitudinalaxis generally parallel to the front edge portion of the ball strikingface.

22 2 5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,810,631Dated May 1 1, 197

Patent No.

Inv n h) Josenh M. Braly It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 5, line lb, "states" should be capitalized. Column 5, line 20,"The" should start a new paragraph;

Colurhn. b, line 8, after-"and" insert a Column 6 line 12, delete "andforming" and insert Column 6, line 13, before insert e'tween the 7leading boundary portion and the front edge portion I Column 6, line l3,after "the" inse': -t intersection between the first sole portion andthe Column 6), line 17, delete "and forming" and insert Column 6, line17, before insert between the I trailing boundary portion and the backface I '7 Column 6, line 17, .after "the" insert intersection I betweenthe second sole p ortion and Column 6, line 18, delete "terminating at"and insert forming 1 Signed and sealed th's 24th day of September 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer CommissionerofPatents

1. A golf club iron comprising a shaft with a metal head secured theretoat one end thereof, a substantially planar ball striking face inclinedupwardly and rearwardly from a front ground penetrating edge portion toan uppermost rear portion, the major portion of the ball striking facebeing rearward of a reference plane containing the axis of the shaft andextending generally parallel to the front edge portion of the ballstriking face, a downwardly facing sole rearward of the front edgeportion of the ball striking face, a back face extending between thesole and the uppermost rear portion of the ball striking face, andshallow concavity in the major portion of the sole gradually curving ina direction generally transverse to the reference plane, the concavityhaving a leading boundary portion spaced from the front edge portion andforming a first sole portion, the leading boundary portion forming afirst sole portion edge, the first sole portion edge being the lowermostelevation of the first sole portion, the concavity having a trailingboundary portion spaced from the back face and forming a second soleportion, the trailing boundary portion terminating at a second soleportion edge, the second sole portion edge being the lowermost elevationof the second sole portion, and the second sole portion edge being thelowermost elevation of the sole when the reference plane is vertical. 2.A golf club iron as in claim 1 wherein a line interconnecting the firstand second sole portion edges forms an angle of 90* to 115* with thevertical.
 3. A golf club iron as in claim 2 wherein the angle is in therange of 92* to 95*.
 4. A golf club iron as in claim 1 wherein theshallow concavity is defined by the uppermost portion of a cylinderhaving a longitudinal axis generally parallel to the front edge portionof the ball striking face.